What started off as a small pile of trash behind the Tamaqua Area Middle School has grown over the past few months into a large illegal dump site for tires, appliances, couches, furniture and so on.
Stretching over 500 feet, the dump site starts along a dirt road located at the top of Coal Street and winds its way past the school district’s sports fields located above the schools. The largest accumulation of littered debris sits next to a path located about 250 feet into the woods on property owned by the Reading Anthracite Company (Walker Township). It is estimated that about three dozen tires are littered at the site.
Local residents said the path is used by dirt bike riders, walkers and outdoor hobbyists.
Tamaqua South Ward resident and Tamaqua councilman Justin Startzel saw the dump site while walking the path last week. He posted photos of the dump site on Facebook in hopes someone would recognize the litter and call police.
Tamaqua Borough Manager Kevin Steigerwalt was informed by Tamaqua Crime Watch and said he plans to be in touch with the Tamaqua Area School District in the next few days in hopes of addressing ways to prevent unauthorized vehicles from accessing the area. He added that he will also be in touch with DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) for ways of removing the garbage.
Tamaqua Crime Watch said that there isn’t any garbage bags or mailings to trace back to the owners of the littered garbage. Tamaqua Crime Watch is offering a $250 reward for details that result in the arrest or conviction of the litterbugs. They are encouraging anyone with information about the litterbug(s) to call police.
“Littering is contagious,” said Startzel. “We simply won’t stand for it.”